SOMERSET — The new assistant treasurer will begin working for the town on a part-time basis Tuesday after the Board of Selectmen approved the appointment Wednesday night.

Treasurer Doris Rousseau had recommended her selection of Patricia Roderick of Middleboro to the board.

Rousseau said her choice was based upon the experience Roderick brought after she and other town officials interviewed six finalists.

Roderick works as part-time assistant to the treasurer-collector in Norwell and for five years worked in Braintree’s accounting department. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting. The starting salary is $806.71.

She is scheduled to work several days for the next two weeks in order to give notice on her current job, and soon afterward assume a full-time role, Rousseau said.

Treasurer-collector

Somerset is on the verge of converting to a treasurer-collector’s office as a result of a special Town Meeting vote in March and legislative approval that combined the two elected jobs and made the single position appointed.

Applications for the $65,000 job are being accepted through Tuesday. Seven people had applied as of mid-week.

Selectmen at the meeting discussed again the five-member search committee to interview treasurer-collector candidates. Four of the members include Selectmen Chairman Donald Setters, Town Administrator Dennis Luttrell, Finance Director/Town Accountant Joseph Bolton and Advisory and Finance Committee Chairman Christopher Gaudet.

Selectmen heard from one citizen volunteer offering to serve. They said they welcome other candidates and said they’d like to select a citizen with municipal service to join the committee.

With the Fourth of July holiday next week, the Board of Selectmen is not scheduled to meet. Selectmen will resume the search process to hire a treasurer-collector when they return for their next meeting on July 9, Setters said.

Police chief interviews

In a related matter, Selectmen Scott Lebeau is chairing an eight-person search committee that’s scheduled two private interviewing sessions for the police chief’s job. From eight candidates chosen to be interviewed, Lebeau said the first group of four interviewed Thursday night was outstanding.

“The four we interviewed were fantastic,” Lebeau said. “I am extremely impressed with the quality of candidates we have now.”

He said the group of senior officers they interviewed were asked the same 20 questions and the process took just over an hour for each candidate.

The second group will be interviewed today.

Afterward, the search committee, which includes one officer with police experience, retired Somerset Capt. Peter Cabral, will meet on Monday in order to rank the eight police chief candidates and submit the top five for the Board of Selectmen to interview publicly.

“The process is actually extremely smooth,” Lebeau said, adding, “My assumption is we will have a chief in place Aug. 1.”

Page 2 of 2 - Town officials have confirmed that the sole in-house candidate, Somerset Captain Stephen Moniz, was among 11 officers initially screened and one of the eight to be interviewed. Lebeau, however, declined to acknowledge Moniz was among the top eight and repeated what he said was the committee’s stance to retain a “gag order.” The purpose is not to feed the rumor mill, he said, declining to say how many Massachusetts officers are among the top eight and what other states may be represented.

That will be divulged when the committee submits the top five to selectmen, he said.

Twenty-four candidates applied for the job to replace Joseph Ferreira, who retired June 2 after nine years as chief during a 30-year career as a police officer.

Selectmen placed Moniz, one of two captains, as the department’s officer in charge.